Secrets of the Fire Nation
by Corkstopper
Summary: Toph tags along with Zuko as they investigate an underground Fire Nation research facility. There, they discover an amazing secret. Canon with the series. Post Boiling Rock, pre Southern Raiders. Story completed for real . Please read and review! Toko.
1. The Mechanical Octopus, Act 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar.

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As you all may know, during the second half of Book 3: Fire, Zuko goes on a trip with every main character. Every main character except for Toph. So I decided to write one in which he adventures with Toph. Both of them have issues with their families, so I decided to set that as the major theme of my story. I wrote the story similar to the way a regular episode of Avatar would be. There's two chapters (two episodes) split into three parts each (for the commercial break). Other than the voiceover in the beginning and the recap, the entire story is told in narrative form.

This story is canon and set in the universe of Avatar. The only thing that would be different if this scene were included would be that there would be none of Toph's mentioning of going on a life-changing field-trip with Zuko in "The Phoenix King."

These two episodes are set after "The Boiling Rock: Part 2" and before "The Southern Raiders."

Oh, and before I forget, I changed some scenes from the "Boiling Rock: Part 2" in order to set the premise of this story.

Thank you and I hope you enjoy reading. Reviews are welcome.

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**Secrets of the Fire Nation**

Voiceover:

Katara:

_Water. Earth. Fire. Air.  
Long ago, the Four Nations lived together in harmony. Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked.  
Only the Avatar, master of all Four Elements, could stop them. But when the world needed him most, he vanished.  
A hundred years passed and my brother and I discovered the new Avatar, an Airbender named Aang. And although his Airbending skills are great, he has a lot to learn before he's ready to save anyone. But I believe... Aang can save the world._

Previously, on Avatar:

_The Runaway:_

Toph: Katara, I need your help.

Katara: What is it, Toph?

Toph: I need you to write some things down for me. I want to send a letter to my parents.

_Zuko Alone:_

Ursa: Zuko, that's what mom's are like. If you mess with their babies, they'll bite you back.

_Day of Black Sun: The Eclipse_

Fire Lord Ozai: Don't you want to know what happened to your mother‌?

Zuko: What happened that night.

Fire Lord Ozai: My father, Fire Lord Azulon, had commanded me to do the unthinkable to you, my own son. And I was going to do it. Your mother had found out and swore she would protect you at any cost. She knew I wanted the throne and she proposed a plan. A plan in which I would become Fire Lord and your life would be spared.

Fire Lord Ozai: Your Mother did vicious, treasonous things that night. She knew the consequences and accepted them. For her treason, she was banished.

_The Boiling Rock Part 2: _(Added on and made up for the sake of the story)

(Zuko is in the huge airship that transported Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee to the Boiling Rock. He is outside the cockpit listening to the pilots talk.)

Pilot 1 (Talking to co-pilot): _(Points to a chart hanging on the wall of the cockpit.)_ I heard that after the Boiling Rock, the Princess is going to take us to an secret location that only royal family members and a select few know Fire Nations soldiers.

Zuko (Looks through the cockpit door. His eyes widen a bit and he whispers to himself): Could it be?

_After leaving via the airship, Zuko recovers a map that the pilots were going to use to take Azula to the undisclosed location. Zuko believes that his mother is being held there._

(Fades to white.)

**Secrets of the Fire Nation: Part 1**

**The Mechanical Octopus**

Act 1:

_The Western Air Temple. It's the night after Sokka and Zuko returned from the Boiling Rock. Suki is preparing tea, Hokoda and Chit-Sang have gone into the forest in search of food, and Zuko is in his room pondering over his girlfriend's final moments at the prison. Everyone else is listening to Sokka retell his version of the magnificent escape from the Boiling Rock_

"So there we were, surrounded by Fire Nation prison guards. They whipped their whips out and lit them on fire with their firebending. The Warden came up and shouted, 'You may be a darn fine warrior of the Southern Water Tribe, Sokka, but even you cannot escape from my prison.'" Everyone listened intently to Sokka's recount of the Boiling Rock escape. "Zuko shivered a bit and I grabbed hold of his arm. I told him, 'Don't fret, Zuko. I got you into this mess, and I can get you out.' I drew out my black sword, turned, and yelled, 'You're so proud of your record, Warden huh? Well guess what? You haven't met my space sword, then!' I threw my space sword at him, and it sliced his hand clean off."

The entire groups' eyes widened. "Wow… did you really do that Sokka?" Aang asked.

"What, he had my girlfriend wrapped around in a headlock. I had to save her somehow."

"I didn't know you were the cutting type." Katara said.

"Yeah, yeah, fine. Sorry to disappoint you, everyone. I didn't cut his hand, rather I pierced his clothes and pinned him to the balcony wall. Sure, I embellished my story a bit, but that's what good raconteurs do."

"Embellish, huh." Katara rolled her eyes. "More like distort."

"Just get on with the story," the Duke asked.

"All right, hold onto your buffalo-horses, guys. I knew I needed a distraction, so I could sneak up to the warden without the guards seeing me. I was fast and stealthy, but not _that_ fast and stealthy." Everyone giggled. "So I punched this prisoner in the guts. He winced, screamed, and firebended in my direction. I dodged it, but the fire hit someone else. In no time, there was firebending all over the place! Dust was everywhere, and I had my cover."

Everyone nodded as they listened intently to Sokka's story. Everyone except Zuko and Toph. The former was resting in his room, while the latter was just disinterested. She just sat there. Usually, she would have shot down his exaggeration or lies, but that night she wasn't in the mood. No one else complained either, for although Sokka wasn't as great a storyteller as he was a joker, the details of all that occurred at the Boiling Rock were too intense for anyone to ignore.

"So now, we had a riot going. However, there was still a problem." Sokka raised his finger. "A big problem actually. We needed a hostage—not any hostage. Zuko suggested we take a prisoner, but I replied, 'No, you pansy. We need to take someone valuable. Someone like the warden.' He asked how would I round him up. This was the crux of our plan: capturing the warden. Fortunately, I was an adept jumper. I climbed up a wall and began jumping on the prisoners' heads."

"Head hopping, that's cool!" Aang burst. "Monk Gyatso taught me some of that back at the air temple." Every one turned and looked at Aang. "What?" he shrugged, as if assuming that head hopping was a normal. "Hey, how else do I learn pole-hopping for airball indoors?" He turned back to Sokka. "So, how'd you do that without airbending? With your weight and lack of lightness of jumping, wouldn't you have fractured some skulls?"

Sokka scratched his head. "Um…"

"And by the way, where was Zuko the whole time?" Katara asked.

Sokka finally rebutted. "Zuko was with his girlfriend. You know, that gloomy girl." Everyone's jaws dropped open.

"But you said he was outside fretting—" Aang cut in again.

"Hey, but that's not the point! The point is, I hopped over the heads, scaled up the wall, and ran toward the warden. I unsheathed my sword and—"

"You threw your sword at him already," Haru interjected.

"Oh…um… I'm talking about this sword I took from the guards back there…"

"Don't the guards firebend?" Aang asked. "After all, they've been firebending the whole time in your story."

"So where are we at?" Suki asked, carrying bowl of tea for everyone on a tray. She had spent the past half an hour brewing tea for the gang.

"We were just at the point when Sokka took the Warden hostage and saved you from him."

Suki turned at glared at him and gave Sokka the you-are-such-a-big-liar face. Sokka gulped. "Hehe… What I meant was… and saved the _most beautiful_ women of my dreams from him…" He nudged Suki and gave her a wink. Suki smiled a bit and sat down. "Well, though your story might contain some inaccuracies, at least I'm enjoying it." Suki sat down next to Sokka and lay her head on his shoulder.

Toph, however, couldn't stand it. She knew that Sokka was lying through his teeth, but that wasn't the aspect that annoyed her. She enjoyed how it made him seem so much more daring and courageous. What she didn't enjoy was his mentioning of Suki. _Suki, Suki, Suki!_ Ever since she came back from the Boiling Rock, Sokka couldn't stop talking about her. (Well, when he wasn't talking about himself at least.) _What's so special about her? Anyone can use a fan. It takes real skill to be an earthbending prodigy!_ Fed up with the story, she stood up and left the fire. Too engrossed in Sokka's story, which now involved Azula's and Zuko's rocket blast mid-air fight, no one realized Toph had gotten up and left.

She walked underneath an arch. She didn't know how, but she could feel that it was a beautiful night. There were stars littered across the sky and they begged to be seen by a romantic couple. She, however, knew that she would never be with the person she wanted to spend the night with. She didn't know whether it was the fact that she was further from the fire or not, but she felt colder with every step.

Her train of thought was broken when she heard the flapping of a bird. The sound become louder and louder and she soon realized who was approaching. Extending her arm, she shouted, "Hawky! You can keep me company, right?" Hawky perched on her arm and shook around restlessly. She sighed. Even the delivery bird didn't want to be with her. She soon realized that it was shaking because had a message in it. She felt for the back of the bird and took out the letter from the canister, which was rolled up into a scroll. She felt around the very fine paper and found the string that bound scroll. She recognized the insignia on the string: a boar with wings—her family's emblem.

She thought for awhile what could have been detailed in the letter. An angry tirade? _They're probably mad and amazed that I managed to elude my captors._ She laughed. Then she thought: Deep regrets? _Perhaps I finally touched them with my last letter._ Though she knew that the contents were going to be overly sentimental either way, which she detested, she preferred reading the letter to returning to the story. She took the seal off and ripped open the scroll. It was at that instant she remembered that she was blind.

Her first thought was to find Katara. After all, she was the one who wrote the original letter. However, she wanted to avoid the gang as much as possible. There was only one person she could turn to: Zuko.

Upon entering his room, she realized he wasn't there. _What would he be at this hour? _Could he have deserted just as Katara predicted? _Unlikely,_ Toph told herself. _He did save Sokka's girlfriend and father. He wouldn't leave us right now. And if he did revert back to his old ways, he would have attacked Aang already._ She kneeled and place her hand on the ground to sense where Zuko went.

Scene Switches

"I can sense a lot of emotions stirring within you. Although you know you've finally chosen the right path, inside, you still feel greatly troubled, for finding the path has cost you so much: You're love, your family, your nation… I can feel this turmoil raging."

Zuko turned around. All he saw were shrubs. Zuko's face lit up. "Uncle, is that you? Is this where you ran off to?" Only Uncle understood his feelings entirely. Though the words certainly sounded like they came from his Uncle's lips, but the voice was a lot higher. Then heard a loud burst of laughter.

"Haha! You should've seen your face, Sparky! Priceless!" The voice was now a lot higher and a lot more feminine. "Reading people's hearts is awesome!"

"Toph, what are you doing here?" Zuko was shocked by her appearance and even more dumbfounded by how well she understood his feelings.

Toph walked out from the shrubs. "Just making sure you get meat this time, Sparky. I would really like some real meat this time. So I'll make sure you don't drag another group of people into our gang."

"This isn't a quest for you. It's really dangerous, and I don't want to get you involved."

"Quest? Dangerous? Sounds exactly like something I need to get out of this depression I'm in. Besides, I've been getting a bit lazy, staying at the temple every day."

"No, I don't want to get you involved! This is something I have to settle by myself and I can't risk your life. If I don't make it back and you disappear along with me, everybody will think I betrayed them again!"

Toph was indifferent to Zuko's outburst and pretend she didn't hear him at all. "What's so important that you would deny the help of the greatest earthbender in the world?"

Zuko sighed. "I'm in the search of my parents… my mother specifically."

Parents? Toph couldn't believe what she was hearing. Zuko was risking his life and the Avatar's success just so he can met his mother? But then Toph finally understood that it was the loss of his family that was causing his inner-turmoil the most. Then, she remembered her letter. "Actually Zuko, I have a similar quest. Let me tag along…"

Zuko groaned. However, he knew that he could trust Toph… After all, she was the only one to believe in him when he first arrived at the Western Air Temple. More importantly, he knew that Toph was the most stubborn earthbender there was. "All right," he waved his hands. "Come along…I hope you know what you are getting yourself involved in though."

"Oh yeah! Can't wait." Toph whispered to herself excitedly as she rubbed her hands together in anticipation.

As they walked, Toph finally threw out the question of why his mother was so important that he had to find her immediately.

"Despite all the trials and tribulations I had to face, there was one thing that kept me going. My mother's love. She saved my life." Zuko knelt down. "You've never seen my scar, have you?"

Toph shook her head. Sure, she has heard of it, but she couldn't sense the scar's shape through the vibrations.

"Feel it," Zuko said. "I don't mind."

She placed her hand over the burn. "Wow…" she said. "You've been hurt pretty badly."

"If it weren't for my mother, I wouldn't have this scar. But I also wouldn't have my life." Zuko then moved on to tell how his father had intended to kill him in order to appease _his _father, Azulon. However, his wife Ursa intervened, killed Azulon, and vanished. "At first, I thought she died. It was fairly ironic then because this scar is all I have to remember her by." He laughed a little. Zuko stood back up. "Now, however, I know that there's more I can do. I'll find her, and I'll save her. This is why I have to rescue my mother.

"Wow…I didn't know your mother…"

"It's ok, Zuko said. You wouldn't expect the firelord's wife to be so caring, would you? Especially since you met my sister and heard of my father." Zuko had read her mind. Well, it's time we got going.

"Got going?" Toph asked.

"Yeah. The location is on a Fire Nation island. Just let me get this war balloon started."

_Balloon?_ Toph had a bad feeling. _Wait a second…_

"Didn't your war balloon get destroyed during your excursion at the Boiling Rock?"

"Yeah," Zuko replied. "However, the airship had a spare engine that I could use for the balloon. I also found some tarp in there and a map, which I believe will lead me to that location."

"Wait." She paused out of hesitation. "Are you telling me that we are going to fly in something you designed?"

"Yep. Is there a problem?"

_Ugh., We're going to be flying…in a rickety war balloon. Sokka, despite his quirkiness, was a master craftsman. Zuko, she wasn't so sure of._ She wanted to tell him that she couldn't come, but she had already agreed to tag along. If there was one thing Toph Beifong wasn't, it was a quitter. _Come on, Toph, you've flown many times before no need to be scared… _"But this one is likely fragile!" She reasoned with herself. _Well, you won't have to lose face… Zuko doesn't know…you know… that you are scared of flying._ "You're right," Toph told herself. "He doesn't. Just stay calm, Toph. You can do this." She climbed into the balloon and they took off.

Zuko felt a bit strange that Toph, such an independent and rebellious girl was holding his arm for the entire duration of the trip. They finally arrived at the island. Zuko hid the balloon behind a few trees. Afterward, they began traveling on foot.

After a short walk, Zuko whipped out the chart he found in the airship he stole from Azula. He consulted it for awhile. "We're here," Zuko said.

"Are you sure?" Toph asked. She could definitely feel something was strange.

He put the map back into his pockets, looked up, and saw a decrepit observatory perched on the mountains. "I'm positive," Zuko replied.

_(Fades to black.)_


	2. The Mechanical Octopus, Act 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar.

So here's the second part, and I introduce some original characters, so it might get a bit confusing. Enjoy reading and please review. Thanks.

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**Secrets of the Fire Nation: Part 1**

**The Mechanical Octopus**

Act 2:

_Zuko and Toph are in the observatory, searching for information._

Zuko was pulling his hair out. They had spent an hour looking through the dilapidated observatory, but none of them could find anything useful. "Just scrolls and scrolls of more constellations!" He threw the dirty scroll onto the ground and took another one out. "Lunar cycles! Sozin's Comet! There's no new information here."

"I think you should appreciate these findings more, Sparky," Toph said. Because she couldn't see, she had no understanding of astronomy at all. However, she still had her common sense. "Who knows of what use they can be? Snoozles found information pertaining the solar eclipse, which we used to give us an advantage during the siege."

Zuko threw the scroll down. He knew Toph was right, and that he should have respected the recordings more. However, he couldn't contain his rage, for he had his hopes set so high for finding his mother here. Not only did he not find his mother, but he found a deserted observatory that provided no useful information. The entire trip was meaningless. Then, he spotted something. A scroll of a constellation, but not a regular one.

"Have you seen a constellation like this before?" He handed the scroll to Toph.

There was silence, and then she realized that he was talking to her. "Don't look at me, I can't even see the blueness of the sky! Do you seriously expect me to see the glint of the stars?"

"Oh, right..." Zuko stared at the lotus constellation for awhile longer. Deeming it important (or at least more important than the other scrolls), he rolled the scroll up and put it into his pockets. Toph was tampering with the old and broken telescope. Then, she stopped.

"Sparky…do you feel that?"

"Feel what?" Zuko asked.

"I don't know, but I can sense a huge amount of energy close by. A _huge_ amount of energy." It was logical that she could sense it while he couldn't, for her blindness allowed her hearing and tactility to be more acute. Toph ran out the observatory and down the steps of the mountain, of which they used to climb to the observatory.

"Wait up! This is Fire Nation territory!" Zuko called as he began chasing her. He too ran out the observatory and down the steps, hollering to tell her to stop. Finally at the base of the mountain, he found the girl, standing in the center of a clearing, staring into space.

"Don't you ever try and pull a stunt that again. Who know what could've—"

"Jeez, Zuko, you sound like my mother! Lighten up, we're on an adventure."

"But what if you get captured? Worse, killed!"

"Do you feel it?" Toph completely ignored Zuko's morose statement. She was concentrating on the energy she felt back at the observatory. This time, however, it was much stronger. She knew she was getting close. In fact, they were so close that Zuko could feel it too.

"I feel it," Zuko said. "You're right, there seems to be a lot of energy around this area." _Perhaps,_ he thought, _this was where the map from the airship was leading us to._

Toph placed both her hands on the ground. "I was right. There's something going on underground. I can feel the energy pulsing from below. Now aren't you glad I tagged along?"

Zuko was about to interrupt, "Wait, Toph, we should think this through!"

Toph pushed the dirt down, and the entire ground collapsed, revealing a huge hole. Originally, she intended to blast a tunnel through the ground, but the dirt was so fragile that it immediately succumbed to Toph's earthbending blow. It crumbled and collapsed, revealing a big hole that both Zuko and Toph fell through. They landed on the loose dirt that fell from the hole in a huge, multi-floored, cylindrical room. It was dark, with the only light source being a few lamps strung onto the walls, which were made of metal and in the center was a huge blue crystal (the size of a cow-hippo), which Zuko inferred to be the source of the energy they felt earlier. What was much more shocking, however, was that he could she a young girl with soldiers standing next to the crystal a few feet away from where they fell. That young girl was his sister, Azula.

At first, she was shocked by her brother's sudden arrival, but she immediately smiled mischievously. "It's so nice of you to come back and see me, Zuzu, especially after what happened at the Boiling Rock." After his miraculous escape, he had come right back to her. His arrival cheered her up from the boring tour of the facilities the Fire Nation soldiers were giving. She got into her fighting stance, while the guards drew out their swords.

Zuko got into his stance and prepared to firebend. There were too many soldiers. His best bet would be to shoot out a flurry of fire at the soldiers and make a run for it. At the corner of his eye, however, he saw that Toph couldn't lay right next to him, too weak to move. He had forgotten that he needed to save her as well. He thrust his fists forward, but no fire came out. Not even a spark. Soon, though, he realized that no one in the room could bend, for immediately after his punch thrusts, Azula began to run toward him.

Some of the guards ran to grab Toph, who lay on the dirt, barely conscious after the fall, while others went with Azula after Zuko. Zuko drew out his two broadswords, ready to fend off Azula's charge. She however, changed her direction midway and jumped onto the crystal in the center of the room. Zuko slashed his swords at her direction, aiming for her ankles. She jumped off the crystal and landed behind Zuko, and before he could turn to attack her, she knocked one of the swords out of his hand. Zuko tried to slice Azula with his second sword, but she stepped backwards and dodged that blow, too. He continued to swing his sword in her direction, while she continued to sidestep from the attacks. She seemed to enjoy the fight with her brother and dodged every attack effortlessly. Finally, as they approached the edge of the room, Azula intercepted his attack by grabbing his right arm, which held the sword. Zuko got ready to punch her with his other arm, but she grabbed that one two mid-punch. They stared at each other for awhile, and their eye-contact was filled with animosity and contempt. Azula finally grinned, knowing that she had the upper hand, raised her leg, and kicked Zuko in the chest, sending him sliding toward the crystal.

Zuko hit the crystal with his back and saw Azula charge him again, ready to finish him off. Zuko decided that he had one last shot. When Azula got close enough, he reached out his scroll and threw it at her. Azula dodged the scroll, but it managed to give Zuko enough time to run up to her, draw out his knife, and hold her at knifepoint.

"Don't move." Zuko said to the guards in the room. "Let go of the girl," he gestured at Toph, "or it'll be the end of the Fire Nation's beloved princess." Then he whispered into her ear the question he had been dying to ask her, "Where is my mother, Azula?"

The guards lowered their weapons. It was a strange sight, seeing the crown prince threaten to kill his own sister.

Azula laughed. "Did you earnestly think you would find her here? I'm not going to tell you because I don't have to."

"I swear that I'll...I'll...I--a"

"--Kill me if I don't tell you?" Azula smiled. You wouldn't Zuko. You don't have the guts to. And I know you can't." She quickly jabbed him in the chest with her elbow, and during his wincing of pain, disarmed him, and kicked him away, sending him to the ground. She shouted to the guards, "And what did you guys think you're doing? Never show signs of weakness or succumb to anyone—especially a traitor! Pick up your weapons, guards! Send them away!" The guards nodded and knocked Zuko and Toph unconscious.

"What a disgrace to the Fire Nation," Azula said to herself as they hualed the captives out of the room.

Scene Switches

_In a prison, many floors below the room of the fight._

Toph finally regained consciousness and stood up. She felt incredibly weak and hazy. As she moved to grab her aching forehead, she felt someone next to her. Unsure of where she was and her condition, her first instinct was to seek help. She lunged and grabbed the arm. "Zuko, where are we?" The voice she heard was much deeper than she expected.

"Um… I'm not Zuko. I'm an astronomer." It was raspy and soft and followed with a few coughs. Toph immediately realized that she was grabbing the arm of an old man. She immediately let go. It was then she realized that she couldn't see.

"What's going on?" She shouted. "I can't see anything! I'm blind, I'm blind."

"But you were always that way, young lady," the old man shouted.

Zuko grabbed Toph by the shoulder. Trying to sooth her, he said slowly, "Calm down Toph. Everything is going to be ok."

"Ok? I can't see! You don't understand what it is to be blind. You've never been blind before! I don't even know what is going on!" She angrily shook loose of Zuko's grasp and ran. Not far, she banged her head. Feeling around, she realized that she was in a jail cell. She slid her hands up and down the poles. She then used her arm and tried to pry the bars apart. However, no matter how hard she tried, the bars wouldn't budge. "These aren't made out of metal." She muttered.

"Actually, Toph," Zuko said. "They are."

She smelt it. It smelled like metal. She felt it. It was cold like metal. She knew as well as he, who could see, that it was metallic. However, she wanted to deny it because she knew that the lost of both her sight and strength could only mean one thing. "I can't earthbend anymore." She whispered. She finally understood why she felt so weak after the fall into the room with the blue crystal.

"Actually, you still can…" The old man's voice cut in. Then Zuko's voice interrupted. Without any sense of sight (through earthbending), listening became a rapid fire of a series of sentences from many different directions.

"This setback is only temporary, Toph." Zuko said.

"Feel your wrists and ankle." The old man commanded. Wanting to understand the mystery of her loss of bending, Toph immediately did, and realized that she was wearing a pair of bracelets and shackles. "These shackles, the old man said, are preventing you from bending. They block the energy inside of you."

Toph remembered that any form of bending was merely an extension of one's energy.

"Your arms and your legs are the key points. After all, you use mostly kicking and punching to perform your earthbending, young lady." The old man said. Toph finally began to vaguely understand what was happening. "By blocking your energy flow, the bracelets prevent the energy from leaving through your body and become realized as bending."

"So it's like a fence." Toph said. "And the boundaries are my hands and my feet.

"Exactly," the Astronomer nodded.

"So I still do have the capability to bend. I still have the energy. It is just…confined?"

"Very good," the Astronomer clapped. You learn quickly.

It made sense. She couldn't see because the energy wouldn't go beyond her feet. She couldn't twist the metal bars, because the energy wouldn't go beyond her hands. There was still one question lingering in her head, however.

"How can the bracelets and shackles block energy, though?"

"I don't know." He shrugged. "But I do know that it has to do with those crystals on them."

Toph felt around some more and realized that there were indeed crystal fastened onto each bracelet and shackle. The crystals were blue and bright, just like the huge crystal in the room they fell into, Zuko noted. Toph felt each of the facets. _This is so strange_, she thought, but both knew that the crystal was responsible for the prevention of bending earlier in the cylindrical room.

"So Zuko," she asked. "I guess you're wearing these too, huh?"

His voice came out from nowhere. "Actually, I'm not, Toph."

"What? Don't tell me. Are you on their side?"

"No, no, no! Calm down. I'm not wearing the bracelets because I have a necklace."

"Necklace? Yuck. I'm glad I got the bracelets then. I can't believe you would choose to wear one of those girly accessories…"

"Actually, I didn't have a choice. If you understand the workings of firebending, you know that our energy comes from the breath. The necklace restricts me from converting the energy from my breath into fire. Hence the neck position."

"Hmmm…Whoever caught them are fairly clever, then." Toph said. "These aren't your average Fire Nation soldiers."

"They're not." The Astronomer chopped in tersely. "They're Fire Nation scientists. We're in a secret underground research facility."

* * *

_Camera pans up a few floors. Scene opens up with a scientist and an engineer working on fixing a lever._

"What do you think about what we're doing?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean designing it, of course."

"Well, tell me, what is there to think about it?" He placed his wrench down and lifted his helmet. He pointed to the lever that controlled the main generator's operation. The lever was broken off from a fight that started last week. "Sure, it is makeshift, and I know that you're a perfectionist, Tako, but—"

"Yang, I'm not talking about the lever. I'm talking about the machine."

"_The_ machine?"

"What I'm saying is that…" He leaned closer and spoke softly. "Have you ever considered the implications or the consequences of designing such a machine?"

Yang angrily took off his gloves and threw them to the ground. He was annoyed. Deeply annoyed. "Oh, come on, not this nonsense again. Why does it always have to be about ethics? You're a scientist and I'm and engineer for god sake. We're paid to research and design. If you want to think, I suggest you leave and become a philosopher." He bit his lips and looked away.

"Have you ever considered what we're doing? Think about it. It was a miracle to be able to view such a beautiful meteor shower, and it was an even greater privilege to have the interiors for research. Can you believe that we're deigning ourselves to create an energy-sapping machine? Stripping mankind of its only connection to nature?" By then, his voice had crescendoed. Yang covered his mouth.

"Not so loud! Have you forgotten that we're in a Fire Nation facility!"

Tako sighed. He looked around the room and grabbed a ball. "Tell me. Have you ever ridden in a hot-air balloon or an airship before?"

"No. And you're not going to convince me to defect from my country."

He threw the ball in the air and asked his friend, "Tell me how they operate then."

Yang scoffed. "Any novice physicist would know. Supply the balloon with air, and the air density—"

"Yes, but there is a fatal flaw." He threw the ball up and down. "The energy needs to be continuously supplied to the machine through firebending." He kept on throwing the ball. "However, this could grow tiring…and dull." He paused. "With the energy stone, we can fix the fatal flaw. No more needing to supply the aircrafts. No more tireless firebending." He held the ball at the height he threw it. "All that needs to be done is to utilize the crystals potential energy and convert it into heat. Think of all the applications!"

Yang scratched his chin. "Not a bad idea… not a bad idea at all. However, we're supposed to design this machine to stop the Avatar. You know, it's been the Fire Nation's goal—"

"Yes, I do know that. It's been the Fire Nation's goal for the past century. But are you going to listen to their propaganda? Our loyalty should be to our research, first. Our drive to have the universe's questions answered is more important than over our nation's goals. If we destroy the Avatar, who knows what kind of opportunities will we miss out in? The airbending techniques… the aerodynamics of the glider. We can't be involved in the Fire Nation's mad pursuit anymore!" Tako paused. "We should do whatever we deem to be in the best interest of our studies."

"Best interest? This is a job of a lifetime. This is my best interest," Yang argued. "If we succeed in this project, we'd be national heroes! What else is there we can do?"

"There are many other things we can do." Tako said. He ripped off the Fire Nation insignia that was sewn onto his shirt and took his gloves off.

Though Yang fully understood his partner's intention and ideology, he was skeptical that his idea would go well with the Firelord. Actually, he wasn't _skeptical_. He was _certain_. He knew that Tako knew it wouldn't work out. "Don't tell me you're going to—you'll get killed!"

"I know. I'm not going to persuade the Firelord. I may not be able to control the Fire Nation's course, but I am fully able to take hold of my own destiny."

Yang bit his lip in hesitation. "Wait. You can't do this alone." He ran after his friend.

* * *

Scene switch

_Scene opens with the Astronomer explaining the details of the facility. Zuko and Toph listen intently._

"It's actually quite a nice research facility. The scientists here are geniuses and pioneers in energy advancement. Take these lights for example." He pointed to the lantern that was hung in the cell and Zuko looked. "Usually you'd see those supplied by fire. But these guys here have found an alternative source."

"Alternative source? How? Fire's been the main tool for lighting since the beginning of time."

"Yes," the Astronomer nodded. "But these guys have learned to harness the power of lightning. What better choice than to use a purified form of fire, right?" Zuko was amazed.

"Then are you saying that these people can control lightning… If they can, they can teach me to lightning-bend."

"Control, yes. Bend, no." Zuko frowned upon hearing this news. "Manipulating energy and creating, or bending, as you say, energy isn't the same. If you want, perhaps you would want to stay here for awhile longer. I mean, you can make your stay here quite homey."

Zuko and Toph lowered their heads in disgust.

"It's not as bad as you think," the Astronomer countered. "I mean, sometimes the guards bring me spare parts for me to work with." He held out a wind-up toy, wound him up, and set him onto the ground, on which he began playing his drum.

"You sound like you have an interesting life," Toph muttered.

"Well, when you are a person as important as me, you get to have privileges."

"Important?" Zuko asked.

"Of course, important! After all, I know about the Secret of the Fire Nation."

Zuko and Toph both leaned in. The Astronomer caught on that he should continue.

"This research facility was constructed for the study of extraterrestrial objects. Several weeks ago, there was a meteor storm on one of the Fire Nation Islands. They decided to take ship the meteorites into the laboratory for investigation."

"I remember the meteorites," Toph exclaimed. "I was there. One of them crashed right next to us and started a huge fire. In fact, I think I have my meteor bracelet right here. It was made from space earth" She reached into her pocket to take out the charcoaled rock, but to her dismay, it wasn't there.

"They've taken all of our possessions, Toph." Zuko said.

"Well," the Astronomer interrupted. "They had to. It's for your own good. If you carried all kinds of random trinkets on you, then the testing might go horribly wrong. Who know what serious repercussions there'll be…"

"Testing?" Zuko asked. The word bore an ominous connotation and piqued his interest. He finally understood why they were wearing such plain clothes. They were the test subjects. "Exactly what kind of testing?"

"Oh that's part of their project that their researching on," He quipped. "You see, catching the Avatar has been a problem for the Fire Nation."

"Tell me about it," Zuko muttered. "I had to travel to the North Pole, the capital of the Earth Kingdom, and across the lands of the Fire Nation in order to get him."

"No, not that!" The Astronomer said. "I'm talking about the reincarnation process. As long as he isn't killed during the Avatar state, the reincarnation process continues."

Zuko and Toph nodded. The old man may have looked loony with his bulging eyes, numerous wrinkles, and white hair sprouting from all over his face, but he definitely made sense. "So if the Fire Nation killed him while he wasn't in the Avatar State…"

"He'll be reborn as a Waterbender." The Astronomer finished Zuko's sentence and continued "This is certainly a dilemma, no? The Fire Nation cannot kill the Avatar if he's not in the Avatar State. And if they keep him alive, he'd wreak havoc with his bending capabilities." Now, I hear from them…" He pointed at the guard standing outside and lowered his voice. "They have found a way to end this. Finally found a way to capture the Avatar. As long as they can detain the Avatar, they'll have the time they need to eliminate the last of the Water Tribes. After all, he said, with Sozin's comet coming in two weeks, the Fire Benders will have all the power they need." He took out a watch from inside his pocket and looked at it. "Exactly one week and five days to be precise."

Toph could hear the ticking noise. "Wow, where'd you get that? I thought they took all of our possessions away."

"I made it myself," the Astronomer said smugly.

Zuko interrupted their banter. "So, tell about their project."

"How do I know?" The Astronomer shrugged. "It's a secret after all, and I only got the information through eavesdropping."

Suddenly, the elevator door opened and pair of guards got out. In between them was another man. He was garbed in a Fire Nation scientist outfit.

"Into the prison, you traitor!" The guard on his right shouted. The guard of the prison slid the door open and thrust the scientist in.

"And you," the guard pointed at Zuko. "Get out. The head guard wants to see you." He grabbed and pulled Zuko out, handed him to the other guards to take him up via the elevator.

"Ow…" The scientist said as he rubbed his head.

"Who are you?" Toph asked.

"I'm Tako. I'm a Fire Nation scientist here who tried to escape and was betrayed by his friend."

_Fades to black._


	3. The Mechanical Octopus, Act 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar.

Note: I know an Octopus isn't a hybrid of animals... but still...

I hope you enjoy reading, and please review.

* * *

**Secrets of the Fire Nation: Part 1**

**The Mechanical Octopus**

Act 3:

_Scene opens with the Astronomer, Toph, and Tako the scientist sitting in prison._

"Wait. You work here?" Toph asked. She sat cross-legged on the floor.

"Yep," responded Tako. He straightened his collar and dusted his shirt. "I used to be a proud scientist of this facility. First in my class at the Fire Academy, I'll tell you." He patted the name tag on his shirt. "Lately, however, I've begun to question the Fire Nation's motives." He pointed to the spot where the Fire Nation logo used to be.

"You're not the first," the Astronomer interjected.

"So you would know about the project, would you not? You would know about the secret of the Fire Nation, right?" Toph inquired.

He leaned in and put the tip of his hand over Toph's lips. "Shh… There's no secret."

"Of course, there is. The old man has been rambling on and on about it!"

"Hey, I said shh! Keep your voice down! You don't want the guards to know! They'll take you away also!" He looked outside. The guard wasn't paying any attention to what they were saying inside. "Tell me, how much do you know about energy bending?"

* * *

Scene Switches

_Guards dragging Zuko, leading him to the testing room._

The room was sparse and eerily dark. Who knew what monstrosities the Fire Nation conceived in this room? The guard soon lit the lamps and soon the entire room was illuminated. At the center, there was a huge Fire Nation insignia. He then realized that this was the room that he and Toph landed in, except without the crystal. Azula stood at the center wearing the wicked grin that she always wore. "Ah Zuzu, you finally made it."

"What's going on?"

"All your life you've wanted to be something: To be recognized by your father and to be remembered by the world. Now you finally can be. You're the first to officially try out the new diabolical Fire Nation device. Guards, strap him in." Azula left the room, and the guards approached Zuko. Without his capability to bend, Zuko's resistance was futile. He wrestled in the arms of the guards but it was no use. They pinned him to the wall and closed the shackles around his arms and legs. (The shackles were think and fastened onto the walls. There would be no way to budge them or break them loose.)

"You've suffered a lot," The head guard said, stroking Zuko's wound. He grabbed Zuko's head by the cheeks and turned his head so Zuko would face him and see him snicker. "But… you still have a long way to go. You thought that little scar of yours was bad? You haven't seen anything yet."

Zuko spit on the guard's hand. "You don't know how much I've been through. I've handled much worse. Torture me all you want, but you won't accomplish anything."

"Torture? Who said anything about torture?" He signaled at the men on the storey above them. The men, behind the glass windows began pushing buttons and pulling switches. The ceiling opened up and a huge machine, attached to mechanical arms and cables slowly came down. The guard pointed at the machine. "This…" he began, "is not torture. This is much, much worse. I'll promise you that."

He leaned toward Zuko's head, trying to intimidate him "Imagine getting beaten up from the outside. Sure, you can withstand that. Just bruises and scars. Now, however, imagine getting beaten up from the inside." The guard pinched Zuko's arm with his two fingers and wiggled his skin. "None of your skin to protect you. Heck, not even your brain can protect you, since worst part is, you don't even know how to fight it…"

* * *

Scene Switches

_Toph and the astronomer are in the prison, listening to Tako explain the details of the machine._

Toph's eyes widened. "Wow… is it that bad?"

"I'm afraid so," Tako said. "The problem with geniuses is that once you bring them all together, they can design one of the most horrible machines. It has two sets of four tubes. Actually, pumps would adequately describe them. Four are latched onto the crystal, and four are latched onto the subject. There are suction cups at both ends that allow them to do so. The eight tubes all join to a sphere, suspended by a long, inflexible tube that extends to the ceiling. This tube supplies our machine with the power to do its work."

"It doesn't sound that horrific. What's it called?"

* * *

scene switches

"All right, men, fasten on The Mechanical Octopus."

_The Mechanical Octopus?_ After hearing all the threats the guard had given, hearing his calling the machine the Octopus was kind of unexpected…and lame.

"All right. Let's move out," The guard said to his subordinates. They bowed and ran out the door. He turned and left the room also. The lights dimmed out, and Zuko could hear the doorways into the room seal. The Fire Nation insignia in the middle slid open, and the crystal was brought up into the room.

* * *

scene switches

"This Octopus thing… Or whatever you call it. It doesn't sound that bad."

"Haha," he solemnly chuckled and shuddered. "That's because you don't know how it functions yet." He looked around to check on the guard. Still, he was dozing off. He approached Toph and grabbed her wrist. "The crystal you have around your arm. You know what it does, right?"

Toph nodded. "It blocks my flow of energy, preventing me from realizing it as earthbending or metalbending."

"Right." Tako said. "Except for one point. It doesn't block energy. It absorbs it."

"Absorbs energy?"

"Energy cannot be created or destroyed. It's a simple fact. The crystals, found in the interior of meteorites, however, absorb the energy. And when they do so, the crystal's light up."

"Are they also supposed to turn hot?"

Tako then realized that the girl was blind and that she couldn't see the light. "Well," he shrugged. "Not exactly. Those are only side effects. It is not very efficient with the conversion, so some of the energy is transformed into heat energy."

As scary as the explanation may have sounded, Toph was quite intrigued by the science behind it.

Tako then continued. "These shackles you wear, however, have one _major_ difference than the machine your friend is being strapped into. These restrict you from bending." He paused for effect. "The other one _steals_ your bending."

Toph's eyes widened. "That's how they'll prevent the reincarnation cycle: By capturing Twinkletoes and siphoning his energy..."

* * *

scene switch

Soon the lights began to dim out, but the room was just as bright, for the crystal in the center began illuminating. Zuko suspected that if the tiny crystal on the necklace around his neck was powerful enough to block the energy flow required for bending, strapping oneself to a rock a thousand times the size would be much, much worse.

Though Zuko didn't know what to expect, he still decided to stay still. Even if he did managed to shake free from the thick metal shackles attached to the wall, which was unlikely, he would still be in the danger of the machine. Who knows? Any tampering around with the process might result in much worse consequences.

He could feel the suction of the tubes as they began pulling in his skin. Although it was excruciating, Zuko bit his lips and repressed his pain. This was going to be a mental battle, and if he were to fight off the energy-draining machine, he knew that the best choice he could make was to remain calm and focused. However, the pain was to stinging to ignore. If the effects of the crystal didn't destroy him, the suction cups sure would have. Worse, he knew he wouldn't die in peace, for the loud vibrations that emanated from the machine on top of the rock grew noisier and noisier. Soon, he had trouble breathing—or so he thought. It wasn't a response to the lack of air, for after all, the machine wasn't vacuuming the air. Rather, it was a mental response to his life force being drained.

Then, he began hallucinating, or so he thought. Uncle Iroh stood right in front of him and waved at Zuko. He was in the clothes he wore at the Earth Kingdom and was pouring tea. There was a fire in front of him. It roared and made his uncle drop the tea cup, spilling the tea. The fire continued growing, forming the shape of a fiery jail cell. _I still haven't redeemed myself yet._ Then, next to Iroh appeared Azula with blue fire on her fingertips. She was standing next to a huge sand castle, and she shot at it, turning it into clay and demolishing it. _I still haven't put my sister at her place yet. _She then made a huge fire ball and threw it to her left, where Aang caught it. Azula growled and formed an even bigger fireball and shot it towards Aang. Aang tried his best to hold the fire off with his own fire shield, but Azula's blue flames were too powerful, eventually overwhelming him and burning through him. _I still haven't taught the Avatar all the firebending he needs. _Finally, above all three appeared his father, Ozai. He prepared a huge fireball the size of the comet and thrust it at Zuko, completely blinding him. _I still haven't restored balance to the world._

"Ugh…" Zuko thought. He was at his breaking point. Any longer, he would have to scream…

The people: Iroh, Azula, Aang, Ozai. They all disappeared after the blinding light. Then, he saw her. Her sad eyes. Eyes that he hadn't seen in half a decade already. She put on her hood and whispered to him, "Everything I've done, I've done to protect you. Remember this Zuko: no matter how things may seem to change, never forget who you are." She turned and left.

Zuko then screamed in agony.

_Fades to white._


	4. The Astronomer's Secret, Act 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar.

So here's the second and last part to my story, entitled "Secrets of the Fire Nation." (Imagine that if it were an episode, it would be a one-hour special :))

I know that "Secrets of the Fire Nation" has been a title before in the TV show, but I liked the name, so I'm using it as the title for this work of fiction.

And as with before, there will be a lot of explanations in this chapter... I try to draw from the previous episodes as much as possible.

As always, I hope you enjoy reading and please review. Reviews are highly appreciated.

Thank you.

* * *

**Secrets of the Fire Nation, Part 2**

**The Astronomer's Secret**

Act 1:

Zuko was screaming in agony. Apart from feeling the suction completely bruising his skin off, he saw images of his Iroh, his Azula, the Aang, and the Firelord flash before him. All he felt though was his failure to reconcile with his uncle, subdue his sister, train the Avatar, and save the world. As if those images didn't cause him enough emotion trauma, he saw the disappearance of his mother, which finally caused him to snap. The pain, however, suddenly died down as he felt a great amount of slack. Was that all there was too it? Were the painful mental images of his family the real purpose of the machine—to stimulate a psychological breakdown? Apparently not, for he then heard a ringing come from the machine, which was followed by an explosion, sending pieces of metal flying everywhere. The machine had not endured long enough to do any serious damage.

The fire alarm, sensing the smoke and fire from his machine, triggered, and sprinkled water into the room, calming Zuko down.

Zuko sighed in relief. Not only did he not feel any weaker, he was pretty sure the machine had malfunctioned. Following the explosion, he heard some bickering occurring outside the test room.

* * *

"Lang Shen, goddarn it! What did I tell you? Do not clean the insides of the machine with bleach! It will make the metal rust, and as it rusts more and more, what will happen?" The guard was definitely at nerves end.

"It'll break…" He nervously replied.

"Exactly, especially if it is under such a powerful force of suction. How many times do I have to tell you this?"

"Hey, what's the matter, Meng?" It was a third voice. "Long Shen was only doing his job. Wait… Why the heck was he cleaning our prized machine anyway?"

"What? Isn't it obvious? The princess was coming. We needed everything spick and span. Don't forget I had to sweep the dirt and patch the hole!"

"Ugh…" The guard disregarded the janitor's complaints. "What do we do now?"

"I guess we'll have to report to the head guard."

"No!" Long Shen cried. "I'll be fired for sure. I have kids. Please."

"Well, we have to tell the princess—"

The guard was interrupted with a loud and unanimous, "No!"

"Goshdarnit," one of the guards interjected. "Do you know what will happen if we do that? We'll get killed!"

"Or worse… She'd probably use the machine on us!"

"Well, let's stop listing down horrible acts that the princess will do to us and instead, think of a plan."

"Do you think the machine did the job?"

"I don't know. By the look at the time, it should have." He looked through a glass opening in the door. "Our prisoner doesn't look so bad, thought. I think we better make sure. We better redo the sunction."

"All right. Rei, how long do you think it will take the machine to get fixed?"

"From the looks of it, I think it might take around three hours or so. Nothing too bad was damaged. Just need to replace the rusted parts and recalibrate the machine."

"Good. All right, Meng, why don't you go and _entertain_ the princess. Everyone else, stay calm and remain at your posts… except for you Long Shen… Get out of here…"

He opened the door and walked in. The room was wet after the explosion and the fire died down. _Guess having Long Shen install those fire safeties wasn't such a bad idea after all…but it did take some time for him to realize that the facility was being run by FIREbenders._

He cleared his throat and approached Zuko. "How does it feel, subject?" Zuko immediately noted that he lacked the ferocity and the intensity of the head guard.

"Not…bad at all?" Zuko answered hesitantly.

"Not bad? Is that what you are going to say after undergoing such a horrible procedure?"

"Well, I don't know if the procedure was fully underwent—"

The guard squinted his eyes. "How dare you deny me…"

"Well, I mean the machine exploded."

"The machine exploded… Is that all you have to say?" He tilted his head and spoke in a mocking tone, incredulous that Zuko insinuated a procedural failure. He felt Zuko's necklace. It was warm, meaning that Zuko could still generate energy for firebending. "Humph" he grunted.

"Well, also the fire safety went off?" Zuko said tersely.

"Haha! Is that all you have to say? An explosion and a triggering of the fire safety?" He laughed and clasped his forehead. "You've really become delusional. The side-effects of the procedure are already taken a toll on you. Don't worry. After a few days, you'll learn to accept it."

"How about—"

"No 'how about's!' What happened has happened. Accept it."

Zuko was shocked by the insanity of the guard but decided to keep his mouth shut.

The guard ran out of the room again, sealed the door, and talked to the other guards.

"He can still firebend. However, I think I convinced him that the machine worked and that he has lost his bending abilities. He is a sly one, but I think that if we work together and stick as a family, we might be able to re-conduct the procedure without the Princess's noticing."

The guards groaned. "Meng was playing the _family _card again." They each thought. "We're not a family. We're just a group of guards contracted to work at the same facility." Nevertheless, they got to work.

* * *

Scene switch

Back at the jail cell, Zuko was immediately embraced by Toph, who held onto his arm. Normally, she wouldn't grab his arm, but her blindness made her feel insecure. "What happened, Sparky? I mean… did they… really take away your bending?"

"I doubt it. Part of the machine malfunctioned during the process. I think I'm all right."

"Thank goodness—I mean that's good to hear." She blushed.

"However, something strange happened. As the process continued, I saw my friend and family. I don't know how, but it felt so sad, regretful, painful, and real watching them."

Toph turned to Tako, to see if he could offer an explanation. Tako merely shrugged his shoulders. "That's really strange, though not understandable. You'd usually see your life flash before your eyes."

"But it wasn't my life. To strangely put it, more like my destiny… the duties that I still had to complete." Zuko answered.

"It wasn't your life flashing before your eyes." The Astronomer got up. "It was turmoil and conflict that tangled your emotions and energy. The only reason that your energy and bending process took so much longer than it did would have to be that the machine had a difficult time extricating your emotions from your energy, and as it drained your life force, it pulled the images of your family and the Avatar along with it." Zuko nodded. Everything the Astronomer said made sense so far. "Be thankful, my boy. Without your strife, your bending capabilities could have been permanently ripped from you."

Tako stood in astonishment. Only recently had the scientist explained to the ragged old man the workings of the machines, but he seemed to understand the idea of energy flow so perfectly.

"Well, even though I managed to escape that horrible fate, I still don't have much time. They plan on restoring the machine in the next few hours, meaning that we have to take action, now."

"So it's time for us to escape?" Toph asked, unbelievingly. However, her eyes still lit up.

"Well, I came here with one goal: to find my mother. And she isn't here, so we better find a way out."

"How though? We cannot bend. You can't firebend to take out the guards and I can't metalbend us out of this prison."

"No you cannot, young lady," The Astronomer interrupted. "But then again, they haven't taken your bending away. It is only that the crystals prevent the realization of energy."

"Yes, but that is just the same as not being able to bend at all!" Toph complained. "Sure, we have the bonus of heating up the crystals when we perform our actions, but that won't do us any good!"

"No it's not the same." He shook his head and began to stand up.

Zuko then remembered back when he first reunited with Azula after three years, when his uncle grabbed Azula by the hand and redirected the lightning at the mountains. He had an idea.

"No it's not the same." Zuko repeated what the Astronomer said. He turned to Toph, and told her, "When I give the cue, Toph, grab my waist."

"Subtle, Sparky, very subtle, but I'm already holding your arm anyway."

"No that's not what I meant. I need you to hold my waist. I need to use my hands. When you grab it, earthbend."

"Bend? But I can't. I'm wearing these crystal bracelets."

"Exactly."

"What?"

"You said you're wearing the crystal bracelets." Zuko clarified.

"I know! But that doesn't help."

"Trust me, Toph. This is going to work, but I need your full cooperation. Zuko said with confidence, inspiring Toph to listen to his ideas rather than argue.

Toph remembered then that she was the only person in the gang who initially believed that Zuko could cooperate. If her intuition was correct before, she might as well believe in him now.

A guard walked by. "Guard, he old man here has collapsed." Zuko said.

The guard lifted his helmet. He took out his keys and unlocked the door and slid it open, preparing himself to take a look at the Astronomer. Right then, Zuko grabbed the guard by the neck. He guard surprised, pulled his arm back to ready a fireball. However, he soon realized that he couldn't summon one. He tried to scream, but was muffled by Zuko's chokehold. Desperate he grabbed his own throat to try and take Zuko's hold off. Zuko kicked him and sent him hitting the wall, knocking him unconscious.

He searched the guard's pocket in hope of finding a key to unlock the bracelets or necklace, but unfortunately found none. "Toph, old man, and you, scientist, we have to get out of here!"

The Astronomer approached Zuko. "All that strife and conflict you talked about… Remember, no matter how things may seem to change, never forget who you are." He placed the watch he designed in Zuko's hands. "I'm sure you will be able to fulfill your destiny."

Zuko could swear that he heard the Astronomer's words before… He accepted the gesture and looked up at the Astronomer. "And what about you?"

"You kids go ahead. I'm too old for the fighting." The Astronomer lay against the wall. Zuko and Tako nodded.

Zuko bowed to the Astronomer with Fire Nation signature hand salute. "Thank you…"

"Feng," The Astronomer replied.

"Thank you, Astronomer Feng." He did not want to make the same mistake he had done with Uncle. He did not want to take other's help for granted. Zuko then grabbed Toph's arm and pulled her out of the cell. Tako followed them as they all raced toward the elevator. Zuko pressed some buttons, but the elevator did not move at all.

"This elevator requires firebending to operate." Tako explained.

"Last time I checked, I couldn't do it," Zuko thought. Then after some thought… "Maybe I can do it. My necklace was placed right at the base of my neck because all energy for firebending comes from breathing. I may not be able to realize the energy with my arms and legs, but…" Then, he used his 'breath of fire' technique and sent out several flames out his mouth and the elevator started running.

The elevator gate closed. And the three began ascending. Zuko and Toph lay against the wall in relief that they had managed to break free from the prison. Toph then asked the question that was on both the scientist's and her mind.

"Where'd you learn how to do all of that? The bending-negating chokehold and the fire-breathing?"

"My uncle taught me. He taught me the technique on how to redirect lightning. That if I were to allow the lightning to flow through me I would be able to redirect it. I thought, these bracelets and crystals function exactly the same way. If I were to redirect the energy of a guard or anyone else into our devices, it would probably negate their bending capabilities."

"Your Uncle taught you all of that? Wow." Toph was now kneeling against one of the elevator walls. She then remembered the time they had tea together. _He would be an guardian I would enjoy hanging out with,_ she told herself.

"Impressive," Tako nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, he was always there with me." Zuko continued. Even when I needed him the most: during my exile. He was there, right next to me, the banished prince, a disgrace to the fire nation for all three years. We suffered the trials together, whether it be hunting the Avatar or escaping from the Fire Nation. And even though I decided to leave him and travel alone, he still returned. He taught me everything I needed to know. Not just firebending. He taught me the importance of taking hold of one's own destiny and the balance of the four nations. And I can't believe I betrayed him again. I'll never regain his trust." He placed his hand over his face, shaking his head. He tried to dispel the sad thoughts of his uncle.

"But you came back to us and did what you thought was right. And I bet he would be proud of you, and happy." Toph punched Zuko in the arm. She smiled to herself as she consoled Zuko. Though she was usually as cold as a rock, she enjoyed showing signs of compassion every so often. After all, her friends were the only people she had in the world. Or she thought so, at least.

"We're here," Tako said, breaking the two's conversation. "The second basement floor, home to the testing chamber, the recreational room, and the financial quarters."

"It's time we got out of here." Zuko peered out the window to see if anyone was around. Thankfully, the elevator hallway was empty. No one knew that they had busted out yet.

Zuko began to ran, but Toph tugged backwards. "…I need to find my belongings…There's something very important I need to get." Toph choked. She couldn't believe it, but she actually wanted to retrieve her parents' letter.

Zuko pondered for awhile. "Fine. I'll search for a way to dismantle our bracelets and necklace while you and the scientist search for your belongings." He turned to Tako. "Do you know the way?"

Tako nodded and Zuko responded with a nod. "Then it's time we split up."

_Fades to black._

* * *

Note: The reason that I have Toph grab Zuko by the waist is that I imagined the entire energy business to be similar to electricity... (the basics of electricity at least). I just thought that some of the energy flow would go into Zuko's necklace and some of the flow would go into Toph's bracelet. Therefore, by connecting, they become a human circuit. (Please do not imagine the energy flow as current and the human's as real circuits... It wouldn't make sense electricity-wise. :)

Once again, Thank you for reading and please review.


	5. The Astronomer's Secret, Act 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.

So here is the meat of Part 2: The Astronomer's Secret, in which Zuko and Toph escape from the facility. There is a lot of action and scene jumping in this chapter, and I hope it isn't too confusing. As usual, I hope you enjoy reading and please review.

* * *

**Secrets of the Fire Nation, Part 2**

**The Astronomer's Secret**

Act 2:

_A guard leads Azula through the hallways of the basement second floor. The guard had been assigned to give the princess a tour of the Fire Nation Research Facility in order to delay her from noticing the malfunction of The Mechanical Octopus._

"Here are the financial quarters. In here, we discuss the budget for the facilities and the wages too." The tour guard told Azula. Outside of the room, a guard was playing around with a knife, throwing it in the air and catching it.

The guard throwing the blade talked to himself. "This is a pretty awesome blade. Can't believe it is made in the Earth Kingdom."

Azula saw him and walked his way. "Excuse me, how is your shift going?"

"Not bad, your Highness." He replied catching the blade behind his back in an attempt to impress the princess.

"Are you trying to undermine my authority?" She questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Why, I practiced for awhile…wait—what?" The guard was thrown off by princess's accusation. "What do you mean…"

"I'm asking are you a trying to undermine my authority?"

"That-that's ridiculous…" he stammered. "No one would go against you, your Highness. You are one of the Fire Nation's greatest idols."

Seeing that his guard was down, Azula snatched the knife out of his hands and held it at his neck. "Do you know how close that knife has been to my neck… Do you?"

She held it closer to his neck. The guard who was giving the tour to the princess began chewing his nails. He was frightened by her. Deeply frightened by her temper and ferocity.

Azula spoke again. "Are you like him?" She was referring the convict, Zuko. "Are you a traitor? Do you have intentions of killing me?" She snarled.

The guard shook his head weakly. He didn't have much room to maneuver because the knife was so close to his neck.

She let go of her grip, and began walking away. Before the guard could sigh in relief, however, she dashed toward him and thrust the knife through his armor, pinning him to the wall. "I don't ever want to see that knife again…If I do, I promise that this knife would be tainted with your blood stains. Red, just as the Fire Nation would like it. Do you understand?"

The guard weakly nodded. The tour guide just stared as he witnessed Azula snap. He took a deep breath and tried to remain calm. He walked away introducing Azula to the other rooms. The guard who was pinned to the wall began to pull the knife out.

It was amazing when Azula got angry. During her outbursts, she had amazing strength, allowing her to penetrate the knife through the metallic wall. The guard sighed and hoped he didn't have to cross Azula ever again. He walked with his head down to the storage room to put the knife away.

* * *

Scene switches

_On the same floor as Azula and her tour guide, Tako the scientist, grabbing Toph's arm, leads her around the second basement floor in search of her belongings which had been confiscated during the capture._

"Your belongings should be stored in storage room. It is on the opposite end of testing room." They were running through the hallways as fast as Toph's feet could carry her.

"So we have to go through the testing room—the room with the giant blue crystal?" Toph asked. They had finally arrived at the testing chambers.

"Yes." He pulled Toph close to the wall. "Be quiet. I think someone's coming out." The doors to the chambers slid open and a guard walked out.

"Sheesh… I was just flipping a sword. There was no need for her to flip out." Toph laughed when she heard that Azula flipped out. It wasn't very typical of Azula to do so. The guard heard the laugh, turned, and saw the scientist and the girl. "How did you guys—"

But before he could finish his question, Tako took out the sword he attained from the guard patrolling the prison (who was knocked out by Zuko). He swung the hilt of the sword against the guard's helmet, causing the guard to stagger. He swung it again, knocking he guard out.

After the fight, Tako kneeled to face the girl. "All right Toph, the items you are looking for… You know where they are. I need you to go there by yourself. I have matters I need to attend to."

Toph nodded and the scientist ran off.

* * *

Scene switches

_On the same floor as Toph and Azula, Zuko runs through the hallway in search of a way out of the facility and in search of a way to break the necklace._

He ran through the halls and tugged on his necklace simultaneously. No matter how hard he pulled, however, the necklace wouldn't come off. He ran into one of the janitorial closets to take a breather.

The first thing that mattered was dismantling the necklace. Not being to Firebend was a huge setback. He searched the room for tools or a substitute for a lockpick. However, he found nothing but bleach, dirt, and rusted metal. Then he remembered the clock that the astronomer had given him. He took out the watch and dismantled parts to the lid of the watch. Finally finding a thin metal piece suitable for picking, he began work.

After a few minutes, the necklace snapped open. He felt around the flesh of his neck and sighed. All he had to do now was to find Toph and the exit. He ran out of the closet.

* * *

Scene switches

_The tour guard his continuing showing around the facility to Azula._

"Princess Azula, here is the recreational room." The tour guard pointed at the room to their right. Inside, one could see two guards playing foos-fireball.

"Yes, I know. You have mentioned this to me several times already. Can you show me how the experimentation with my brother went already?"

"Um…" He started twitching nervously. Twiddling his thumbs, he said, "Um… I hear that they haven't finished sanitizing him yet? They need to make sure the radiation has all worn off."

Azula pouted and blew one of the bangs out of her face. Suddenly, the door across the hallway burst open and she saw Zuko battle with other guard firebenders down the hall. With fire in her eyes, she grabbed the guard by the collar and pinned him on the wall. "You fool, what is that?" She pointed to the fight.

_Twitching nervously_ was an understatement. Shaking violently, the guard couldn't say anything. Finally, he managed to squeeze out, "a fight?"

Azula summoned a blue fireball with her freehand. "I know that you imbecile. Involving whom, though?" The guard gulped. Azula released her grip. Exploding at the guard would be useless. She though about killing him, but decided it would be more efficient if she chased him down immediately. "I'll deal with you later." She turned and with the blue fireball she had prepared in her free hand, lunged it in the direction of the fight. Zuko, caught in the melee, didn't recognize that Azula was down the hall until he saw her spray of signature blue fire. He knew she was coming after him and turned to run.

The guards began their pursuit until they heard Azula commanding them to stop. "Stop! Go check on the other prisoners. I'll take care of my brother."

Afraid to incite the wrath of the fire princess, they ran off to the elevators to check the prison room.

The guards rushed into the elevators to descend to the down to the seventh basement floor, where the prisoners were held. Tako was at the far end of the hall, and when he saw the elevator doors close, he muttered. "Fools…putting all of their eggs in one basket." He ran off and headed for the main generator room.

The guards got off the elevator and ran for the prison. There, they found the crazed astronomer lying at his corner. The head guard grabbed him by the chin and shouted. "Where are the other two?"

"They escaped. They really escaped. They escaped this god forsaken facility with the Secret of the Fire Nation."

The head guard couldn't believe it. He grabbed the old man by the collar. "They have the Secret? Where are they, old man? Tell me!" He shook the Astronomer. He pulled his fist backwards, preparing to launch a flame punch. "Tell me or else."

The Astronomer did not reply. He only laughed hysterically.

The guard shook the Astronomer even harder and slapped him in the face. "Tell me where the girl and the scientist is!"

"Slapping an elder isn't going to get you anywhere."

The head guard inhaled deeply. "Fine." He got close to the Astronomer and whispered into his ear, "Where is the girl? Where is the scientist?" He leaned toward the Astronomer's mouth.

"I don't know!" The Astronomer shouted, laughing even harder when he realized that he had gotten best of the head guard. The head guard screamed angrily and drew out a fire whip and attacked the old man. Even during the torture process, the laugher ran through the hallways of the prison and the facility.

"You three…. Don't just stand there. Go upstairs and look for the girl!" He pointed at the guards and then the elevator. The guards curtly nodded and ran off.

* * *

Scene switches

Tako was now on his own. He took the club he used to whack the previous guard with and ran down the stairwell into the generator room and found the lever that he had recently fixed to keep the generator running. He pulled the lever down and, using the club, knocked the lever off.

The main generator supplied power to integral parts of the factory, including the testing chamber, control room (that runs the operations in the testing chamber), and the elevators.

The lights at the prison dimmed but went back on due to the activation of the backup generators. The guards at the prison ran for the elevator, but when they firebended, the elevator wouldn't budge. When they saw the lights go out and come back on, they knew that the main generator had been shut down. They looked at each other blankly and each wore the same expression: each knew they were stranded on the seventh basement floor with the crazed Astronomer.

* * *

Scene switches

_In the financial quarters on the second basement floor, two Fire Nation business partners are arguing over a marketing decision while their boss watches them._

"I'm telling you, these bracelets are all the rage nowadays! You go to the Fire Nation Capital and then tell me if you don't see a single woman wearing bracelets!"

"Yes, I know, but we are appealing to the wrong demographics." His partnered argued. What had began as a petition to increase the wages of the scientists of the facility turned out into a dispute for a better marketing strategy on selling the bracelets and necklaces. "Who's going to have the money to pay for these? Young girls or ladies? And what do ladies want? Necklaces, I tell you!"

In front of the two sat their boss, the one who made all financial decisions in the facility. He couldn't believe his two subordinates were disputing like little children right in front of him.

Then, the walls of the financial quarters broke as Zuko was hit by a blast of blue fire. He shield himself and slid down the table which was used for the meeting. Paper flew every where. Then Azula jumped in, fireing a flurry of fireballs in Zuko's direction. He avoided it, but the table burned into a crisp. The two marketing officials and their boss were aghast. Zuko got up and ran out of the room. Azula chased after him.

"Didn't you see the necklace on the princess's neck?" The partner said to the other.

"Hmm… your right it does look nice…"

The boss snapped. "Why the heck are we talking about necklaces or bracelets, for Christ sakes! These are going to be fastened with the space crystals… We're going to use them for battle, not fashion!"

"Oh yeah…" The two partners said in unison.

* * *

Zuko ran as fast as he could and headed for a stairwell down the hall. He realized that it didn't lead up into the surface, only downstairs. He hopped downstairs and Azula quickly followed. They were heading for the third basement floor, where the main generator and other generators were held.

He rain into the room of the main generator and could see that there was a huge fan below. It was a dead end. There was only one entrance in, and it was through a small door. Azula stood there. She knew that she had cornered Zuko. Zuko jumped onto a pipe that was high above the blades of the fan.

"No more running, Zuzu. This is where it ends!" She jumped onto the pipe and readied for a lightning strike. Zuko saw what was coming and readied a stance. He had to, or else the blow would knock his balance right off, resulting in a perilous fall. Luckily for him, Azula did not know that he could redirect lightning.

He took a deep breath and readied his arms. "I'm not running anymore. Give me your worst, Azula."

Azula made a circle with each of her hands and sparks began flashing on the ends of her fingertips. Then she fired. It hit Zuko right at his finger tips and he sent the lightning through the other end of his arm. It hit the generator cables and sent power into the generator. The fan below them started spinning, and power returned to the testing chamber, the control room, and the elevators.

* * *

Scene switches

The guards stranded at the seventh basement floor realized that the main generator had been turned back on and rushed into the elevators.

After running down the halls of the basement second floor, they realized that a guard had been knocked out near the testing room. They rushed into the testing chamber to see what happened.

* * *

Scene switch

_Toph is in the storage room. She found a knife earlier, and has been trying to cut the bracelets around her wrists off ever since._

"Darn it blade, can't you cut any faster? You were made in the Earth Kingdom for God's sake." Toph had grabbed a knife she found in the storage room and began cutting the bracelets around her wrist. Though the bracelets were made from metal, they were fairly thin, allowing her to believe that she could cut it off. Then, the metal shackle around her wrist finally snapped. "Yes!" Grabbing her other wrist with her left hand, she, using metal bending, broke the metal wristband that was preventing her from bending. Likewise, she tore off the shackles around her legs. Now that she could see again, she sensed the guards approaching the storage facility. They were entering the testing facility. She felt around seven pairs of footsteps, all growing louder and stronger. She punched the wall on the other side of the room, tore it off, and blocked the door. She placed her hand on the floor. "There's so many of them." Her first instincts were to search the trunk again. Inside, she found the old meteor bracelet that was made from the space rock Sokka had given to her after he forged his space sword. "Good thing they didn't take you!" Suddenly, she had a thought.

The guards rushed into the testing room. With the bracelets off, Toph could sense them. There were around six of them and they were all ready to attack. Because she couldn't send metal flying (though she could with earth) she took a huge deposit of space earth that she found in the storage chamber, pulverizes it into small dust, and sent the dust flying throughout the entire room and blinding the guards.

"She's in here!" One of the guards shouted as he coughed, choking on the dust. "Seal her in! Close the gates!" One of the guards nodded amidst the black fog and firebended a switch, triggering the main entrance into the testing chamber to close. There were a total of three _bangs_.

The guards firebended in random directions, unable to see where Toph was. Toph however, could see each of their positions and dodged all of their blows. Though she could avoid all their blows, she still couldn't escape the testing chamber, for the walls and doors (which closed) were all made of reinforced metal to prevent the crystals radiation outside the room.

Then the Fire Nation insignia in the middle began to slide open. _The space crystal. It's coming up. _Then she realized that was her way out of the room and jumped down the hole. When the giant blue crystal finally came into the room, the guards realized they couldn't Firebend or even leave the room, (which required firebending in order to open the door). They banged and banged on the walls, but it was no use.

Tako stood in the control room, flexing his fingers and looking down at the guards who continued panic. He sat down and began to destroy the controls in the room.

* * *

Scene switches

_Zuko and Azula are battling in the main generator room._

Zuko could deflect all of Azula's blow easily, but ever since she switched to bending lightning, he grew weaker and weaker with each redirection. The main generator room was badly damaged, with scorched black metal marking the wall everywhere. With every lightning attack, Zuko fell back a bit. He was on his butt now, against the wall of the generator and could feel the rush of the wind being sucked in by the fan below him. "A real fire nation hero wouldn't have to resort to such low tricks as you. A real fire nation warrior would muster his own strength for defense, not manipulate others. You are a coward, and I will send you back to where you belong, brother." She readied herself for another lightning strike, drawing a circle again with her her fingers. She knew that Zuko couldn't last much longer. Zuko knew so too, for the constant lightning passing through his stomach was hurting him, and he was losing focus. He also knew, however, that if he lost concentration, the lightning would travel right through his heart killing him. Was this the place for his demise?

"What shall I do," he asked himself. "There's no way out." Below him were the blades of the fan, preventing the generator from overheating. The spun so fast that they made accurate firebending in the room difficult. The only other exit was the door behind Azula. "Guess it's the blades then," Zuko muttered to himself. Mustering all of his remaining energy, he readied his arms for Azula's attack.

Azula fired her lightning, and as it coursed through Zuko's body, he focused on guiding it out of his other hand, which was aimed at the blades. The fan exploded into pieces and left a gaping hole. Zuko pulled himself off the pipe and fell into the hole, missing Azula's next lightning attack by only a second.

Azula heard a loud thump below. Though she couldn't see where Zuko landed, she knew that he was tired and injured. "This is just how I would want it to end, Brother!" She shouted menacingly at the direction where Zuko jumped. She gathered the saliva in her mouth and spit to estimate the depth of the chasm and demonstrate her contempt. "Four long years spent chasing the Avatar, fleeing from the Fire Nation…" Hearing no response, she jumped down into the chasm, and upon landing, realized that she couldn't see a thing. It wasn't the darkness, for her flames could've illuminated the room immediately. Rather, the room was filled with black dust. Undaunted by the darkness, she paced around the room in a defensive stance. "You've been running your whole life in search of your destiny—your purpose—and to tell you the truth, I wouldn't want it to end any other way." Upon hearing a faint noise, she firebent into the darkness in front of her and upon realizing that she hit nothing, she chuckled. "I want you to hide. I want you to run. I want you to struggle. I want you to hope. I want you to believe in something. Because you know what? Without it, I wouldn't be able to shatter everything you value in your life." She heard footsteps behind her, turned around and shot flames in that direction. Alas, no one was there. She was growing weary with all of her fire and lightning bending, but somehow managed to remain focused, for she was turned on by the hunt and smiled in anticipation for the capture of her target. "You know, there is only one thing more exhilarating than tracking you down and finding you alone…frightened…weak…and incapacitated. And that is tearing you into shreds—not only physically, but also mentally and emotionally! And when I get you, Zuzu, I promise you, I'll try to make your death as enjoyable for me as possible." She heard a noise again. This time, she did a sweep with her feet, but there was still no groaning or wincing to be heard. "The best part of this is, you have nowhere to run."

"Actually," It was a girl's voice that cut in. "You have nowhere to run."

Suddenly, all of the dust particles rushed and wrapped around Azula's ankles binding her into the ground. In front of her, she saw the Earthbender.

"You—you!" She said, finally recognizing the blind girl who chased her down during the eclipse. It was hard to recognize her since she her skin was all dirty with dust. Underneath all of the dust, though, Azula could see a smug grin.

"You think you've won, huh? Let me burn that smile off your face!" Azula growled and firebended at the black substance wrapped around her feet.

"Sorry," Toph said. "Space earth…" she threw her very own space rock and levitated it with her earthbending. "Not the same as regular earth. It doesn't harden."

Furious, Azula swung her fist back, preparing to strike Toph, however, someone approached from behind her and slung a necklace around her neck. It was Zuko. Using his fingertips, he weld the necklace shut. Azula thrust her fist forward, but nothing happened. Azula realized that she couldn't firebend anymore. The necklace was none other than the one Zuko wore earlier.

"A blind girl and a traitor cannot stop me! I took down an entire Earth Kingdom single-handedly!"

"You didn't take down Ba Sing Se single-handedly… Weren't your friends there with you?" Toph asked.

Upon hearing the word "friends," Azula screamed—not in pain or remorse of their absence—but in full-fledged anger of their betrayal. She flared her nostrils and puffed out blue fire from her nose. The crystal around her neck turned amazingly hot.

Zuko knew that was a bad sign, grabbed Toph's arm, and said, "It was a bad idea to antagonize her. We had better run."

Zuko and Toph ascended the first stairwell they found. As they ran across the second floor, the ascended another staircase into the control room. There they found Tako.

"You guys go ahead. You still have much that you need to accomplish. As for me, I'm just a Fire Nation scientist. Leave everything to me." Tako said. He continued to haphazardly whack the buttons and levers in the room.

"Thanks," both Zuko and Toph responded. Then they ran out of the control room and through the halls until they found the exit to facility. Zuko disarmed the guards at the gate while Toph metalbended a punch through the door. They sighed when they sniffed fresh air and headed into the woods of the island.

* * *

Scene switches

After Zuko and Toph left the room in which Azula was in, she grew immensely furious and snapped once again. In fact, she channeled so much energy through her that the crystal on the necklace couldn't handle it. It exploded and all the energy released from the necklace destroyed everything around her, including the black space earth wrapped around her ankles. She walked free and clenched her fists, which ignited into blue flames.

Most of the underground Fire Nation research facility was destroyed. Azula's energy explosion had destroyed the generators while the the controls in the control room had been smashed by Tako the scientist. The guards apprehended Tako and took him in for questioning.

Azula at first was greatly irritated, but soon after, she smiled. Maybe the failure to detain Zuko and his friend wasn't a complete loss. She along with a Fire Nation guard left the facility and climbed the mountain with the observatory perched on it.

"Princess Azula, should we give chase?" The guard asked.

"Don't you fools. You've screwed up enough." Azula, with her telescope, looked at Zuko and Toph run. "Tell my soldiers to ready my airship. I'll need to leave immediately." She lowered the telescope. "They'll lead me right to the Avatar."

_Fades to black._

* * *

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. The next chapter will be the final chapter and serve as the epilogue for this story. Once again thank you for reading and please review!


	6. The Astronomer's Secret, Act 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar.

Hey, everybody. Corkstopper here. So here's the end to "Secrets of the Fire Nation." It turned out a lot better than I expected, and I would like to thank those who sacrificed some of their time to read and review the story. This is the last chapter, sort of an epilogue, and there is some slight shipping going on, I guess. I hope you enjoy reading, and once again, please review!

* * *

**Secrets of the Fire Nation, Part 2**

**The Astronomer's Secret**

Act 3:

_Zuko walks along with Toph through the woods. They had barely managed to escape the clutches of Azula and The Mechanical Octopus, and along the way they made friends with a scientist named Toka and a sage astronomer named Feng._

"We totally kicked Hothead's butt, Sparky!" Toph commented as the two walked down a path in the woods. "Hothead" was the nickname she had assigned Azula after witnessing the princess snap.

"Yeah…" Zuko said. His voice trailed off, and Toph could immediately sense something was wrong. "All this time, I thought I finally had a chance to rescue and find my mother. I couldn't be more wrong. This was a fruitless adventure—a mad quest in search of he impossible. I should have known my sister wouldn't know her location. I should have known I was leading the two of us into danger."

"Sparky… You couldn't be more wrong."

Zuko stopped walking, turned, and looked at Toph. He stared at her blind eyes and listened.

"Don't think our journey today was a waste. I saw the determination in you as told me the story of your mother, and it was this determination that sent you and I to infiltrate the facility. I listened to you ranting about your uncle, how he trained you in the arts of firebending and the balance of the four elements, and how you deeply regretted your decision to leave him. It was this regret that helped you remember the techniques to energy bending. And I felt you fear as you held the knife to your sister's neck. Fear of killing a family member. And it was this fear that makes you so much a better person than your sister… Your mother told you not to forget who your are… and you didn't. You're the crown prince, heir to the throne, and you demonstrated all the true qualities of a Firelord. You finally understood your mistakes and tried to rectify them. You have defined and followed your values. And because of that, you have restored your honor and grown closer to your mother than you ever could imagine."

Zuko stood dumb. Not only could he not imagine the praise coming out from the little stubborn girl's mouth, but he couldn't believe how much sense the words made. It was true what be people said about blindness: They can see your heart better than anyone else. Though he was flushed with happiness and relief upon hearing her words, all he could utter was, "Thank you, Toph." His face was bright red.

Toph raised her palm. "Hey, don't thank me Sparky, it was all you. And thanks for letting me come along. You've showed me a lot too." She had thought a lot about Zuko's words during their capture.

She had though of Zuko's mother's decision—how she had sacrificed herself to save him. _Perhaps my parents are like that too… maybe their love is unconditional, too…except they expressed themselves poorly. _She had thought of Zuko's sorrowful words about his uncle. _Who knows what grave mistake I might make if I run away from them forever._ She finally thought about Zuko's sister. _And besides, no matter what troubles or conflicts arise (whatever they may be), family is most important_. That is when she whipped out her letter from her pockets. Toph's face flushed, too. It did whenever she conceded that she needed someone else's help.

"Sparky, can you read this for me? It would mean a lot."

Zuko replied, "It would be my honor" and read.

After he read the message to her, Toph nodded briefly. They got into the hot air balloon, and watched the sun set across the sea. A little bit less than a day passed by.

* * *

Scene switches

Before they returned to camp, Toph grabbed Zuko by the arm. "Hey, while I was searching through the trunk for my letter, I found these…" She held out the scroll with the Lotus constellation and his knife.

Zuko knew that Toph had never seen him use the knife before because her bending was negated when they first fell into the Testing Chamber. "How did you… how did you know the knife belonged to me?"

Toph made a slight shrug. "Lucky guess. The inscription said, 'Never give up without a fight.' Sounds a lot like you, Sparky." She smiled.

Zuko let out a small laugh. He still couldn't forget how his uncle had given this knife to him as a present during his siege of Ba Sing Se. He also couldn't forget his encounter with Lee, a rural and young Earth Kingdom boy. He was alone and confused then, and to think he came so far.

They continued walking back to the temple, and finally it hit him.

"Toph, why did you choose me over everyone else to read the letter?"

Toph knew he would finally ask this question. _She had to chase him down the woods in order to find him. Furthermore, there were many other people who could have read it to her—Sokka's dad or Chit-Sang, for example. But she chose him._

"Sparky…" She stopped talking and blushed. Before Zuko could ask the question again, she ran off and headed for the gang. It was dark and Katara was cooking dinner. She was shouting excitedly at Katara.

"Sugar Queen, look what I bought at the market! Two crystal bracelets!" She pulled the bracelets with the blue glowing crystals out of her pockets. "I heard they'll increase your waterbending strength tenfold!"

_Fades to white._

Fin.

* * *

Thank you for reading "Secrets of the Fire Nation." And even more thanks to everyone who reviewed. I hope you enjoyed the story.

Note: This is not the final chapter. I will add one final chapter briefly explaining why I chose to write this story... And I will set up the premise of what I hopefully think will be my next story. Stay tuned!

Note: I know that Toph carried a lot of items in her pockets.


	7. Conclusion, Notes, and Thanks

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar.

* * *

**Secrets of the Fire Nation, Conclusion**

**Notes:**

_Only for those who have finished reading "Secrets of the Fire Nation" or those who don't mind spoilers:_

First and foremost, I would like to once again thank everyone who read and reviewed my story. I had the idea in my head for quite some time, and I finally put it onto paper. And that was how "Secrets of the Fire Nation" was conceived.

However, upon re-reading the story, I realized I made some mistakes (or I didn't explain the situation very well). If you were confused at any moments regarding the following points, I am sorry and I have clarified the points.

**Clarifications:**

1. The control room manages every part in the Testing Chamber. Tako the scientist presses the buttons in the room, raising the giant blue crystal into the room and opening a hole for Toph to jump out of the room.

2. Originally, I wrote out the story that Toph carried a space rock as seen in the end of "Sokka's Master." Only when I watched "The Runaway" again did I realized that it was made into a meteor bracelet. That's why at first I described it as a charcoal and later as a meteor bracelet. So I'm sorry if there was a confusion earlier.

3. Tako the scientist nabbed a sword from the guard, whom Zuko knocked out outside the prison. Later, when he is in the control room, I accidentally changed the sword into a club. It's supposed to be a sword, and he slices the machines in the control room with the sword.

4. I'm not sure what Ursa did that was mentioned in "Zuko Alone." I assumed that the "vicious and treasonous acts" she did involved the killing of Azulon.

5. The blade that was "Made in the Earth Kingdom" is the knife that Uncle Iroh gave Zuko in "Zuko Alone." They also used it in "The Avatar State."

6. After Toph cut off the bracelets and shackles around her wrists and ankles, she placed them into her pocket. I never mentioned that, but it could be assumed from the end of the story.

I know I also made a few typos (sorry for that too.)

**Notes and thanks for reviewers:**

To ell25, arizony, s91, tigerfur, and mlkoolc86: Thank you all for enjoying the story! Especially ell25.

To InoSakuShine: Thanks for your point of criticism. I will try to reduce the thought thinking… I hope.

To bloodstar: Thanks for reading and reviewing. I'm glad you enjoyed the story, but I would like to point out that I assumed the inscriptions were carved into the blade. I don't know if she could read the carved inscriptions… but I wrote it as if she could.

To Storm Warning: I'm glad you liked the story. Toph gave Katara the crystal bracelets because she wanted to pull a prank on Katara. I just thought that would be in her character.

**Final remarks:**

Finally, I would just like to point out that the story isn't over… Though "Secrets of the Fire Nation" has ended, I'm likely going to continue the story in another Fanfiction. After all, the _true_ secret of the Fire Nation hasn't been revealed yet. (If you pay attention, it's not The Mechanical Octopus or the secret projects in the facility. It is something bigger…) Tune in to find out! ;)

Thanks, everybody.


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